Iced Coffee Boba

5 from 3 votes

Make delicious and easy iced coffee with boba (tapioca balls) at home!

Prep Time2

Cook Time10

Total Time12

Course: Drinks

Cuisine: American

Servings: serving (16 ounces)

Author: Jee Choe

Boil water and brown sugar in a saucepan. Add tapioca balls.
Combine brown sugar and water in a saucepan and bring to a boil. When you see big bubbles (2-4 minutes), add tapioca balls. Cook for another 8 minutes on medium-high heat.
¾ cup water, 2 tablespoons brown sugar, ¼ cup tapioca balls
Put warm tapioca balls in brown sugar syrup into a cup. Add ice, then the cooled down coffee. Top with half & half.
Boba should be very warm but not too hot to eat. Coffee should be room temperature or cooler. Do not use hot coffee.
Serve immediately and stir before drinking. Use an extra wide straw to drink.
¾ cup strong brewed coffee, ¾ cup half & half, ¼ cup ice

Use 3 tablespoons of ground coffee and 1 cup of water to brew ¾ cup of strong coffee. You can use 2 tablespoons of ground coffee and 1 cup of water if you want it to be a little less strong.
Tapioca balls that have cooled down just a bit so that they're not too hot to eat but still very warm, have the perfect boba consistency where they're soft and chewy.
Tapioca balls can't be made too much ahead of time since they'll harden after 4 hours. They're best when you cook and cool them a little, and then serve the drink right away.
Boba drinks are all served with a wide straw so you get some of the boba with each sip of the drink. Regular straws are not wide enough and the boba will be stuck at the bottom of the glass.
Chew the tapioca balls instead of swallowing them whole.